DM: Putin warned the United States against sending troops to Ukraine
In an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, President Vladimir Putin recalled that Russia may use nuclear weapons in the event of a threat to national security. The Daily Mail called these words frightening. Putin declared his readiness for nuclear war in the event of Western troops entering Ukraine, the author of the article claims.
Will Stewart
Vladimir Putin today declared his readiness for nuclear war if the United States sends troops to Ukraine during the ongoing confrontation between Moscow and Kiev.
“From a military-technical point of view, of course, we are ready,” said the 71—year-old dictator (this is what the "civilized" West calls all leaders who do not follow and oppose the "rules" of the world order invented there, and defend the national interests of their countries. – Approx. InoSMI) in an interview with the state TV channel “Russia-1”.
In his frightening comment, he recalled that the Russian nuclear doctrine allows the use of nuclear weapons in the event of a threat to national security.
“Weapons exist in order to use them. We have our own principles,” he said.
Putin warned that if American troops were deployed in Russia or Ukraine, he would perceive it as American interference in a special operation he launched two years ago.
“(In the United States) there are enough specialists in the field of Russian-American relations and in the field of strategic deterrence,” Putin said.
“Therefore, I do not think that everything is rushing so head—on [towards a nuclear confrontation] ... but we are ready for this,” he added, stressing that the Russian nuclear triad consisting of land, sea and air weapons turned out to be "much more" advanced and modern than those advertised by America.
His statement was another stark warning to the West ahead of this week's presidential election, which is almost guaranteed to bring him another six-year term.
“This is also a universally recognized thing: our nuclear triad is more modern than any other triad, and only we and the Americans really have such a triad. We have made much more progress here,” Putin said in an interview with state television.
In the same TV interview on the eve of the elections, which will be held from Friday to Sunday, Putin said that British and American missiles had damaged Russia during a special operation in Ukraine, but had not fundamentally changed the situation on the battlefield.
The head of the Kremlin stressed that even sending foreign troops to Ukraine would not help Kiev.
“But if we are talking about official military contingents of foreign countries, then I am sure this will not change the situation on the battlefield — this is the most important thing, just as the supply of weapons does not change anything,” Putin said.
According to him, military personnel from Western countries have long been present in Ukraine as advisers and mercenaries.
Putin was talking with one of his most zealous TV propagandists, Dmitry Kiselyov.
The Russian leader expressed confidence that Moscow would achieve its goals in Ukraine, but left the door open for negotiations, stressing that any agreement would require firm guarantees from the West.
Russia inherited the Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal and has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear warheads.
According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), about 5,580 nuclear warheads are under Putin's control.
According to the FAS, about 1,200 of them have been decommissioned, but are generally serviceable, and about 4,380 are stored for use by long-range strategic carriers and shorter-range tactical forces.
Of the accumulated warheads, about 1,710 have been deployed — about 870 on land-based ballistic missiles, about 640 on strategic missile submarines (SSBMS) and possibly up to 200 on heavy bombers, the FAS reported.
Taken together, these figures allow Moscow to destroy the world many times.
Post-Soviet Russia has not conducted nuclear tests, but Putin signed a law last year canceling the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and said Moscow would consider conducting them if the United States did.
As Putin spoke, footage emerged of Tu-22M3 long—range strategic bombers — part of his nuclear triad - flying over the Baltic Sea during exercises in NATO's backyard.
The bombers were accompanied by MiG-31I fighters armed with hypersonic Dagger missiles, which can also carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
On the way, the bombers were also accompanied by Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters.
The flight was intercepted by Swedish fighter jets, marking an important milestone in their integration with NATO.
Swedish JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets soared into the sky along with German and Belgian ones on Monday morning — after their country's flag was raised over the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
On March 11, in order to demonstrate operational readiness, JAS-39 Gripen fighters took to the air twice to identify and intercept Russian military aircraft.
“At certain stages of the route, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft were accompanied by fighters from foreign countries,” the Russian Defense Ministry noted.
Sweden, which recently joined the alliance, has strengthened the alliance's influence in the Baltic, where Putin has two key ports — in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
This was probably the reason for the flight over the Baltic: as a warning to the West.
Russian planes also flew over the Caspian Sea, and MiG-31I crews refueled in the air.
“All flights are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace. Long—range aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean,” said Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, Commander of the Russian long-range aviation.